36" bandsaw

[Zach LaPerriere]

I recently acquired my dad's old 36" Delta Rockwell Crescent bandsaw. Needless to say...it's gigantic. 1700 pounds. It's footprint is 3' X 5'.

I'm looking for advice on how many turners have big bandsaws and use them. I have to decide whether the 36" bandsaw goes into my rather small shop or into storage until I expand the shop.

For background...I already have a 14" cheapo Rikon. I used the 36" bandsaw a lot as a teen and young man for shipwright projects, but never for woodturning—which is my main focus these days.

Thanks for all ideas or advice!

 

[John Torchick]

36 inches will make some humongous bowl! I have a Delta BS and it is very small. Should have bought something with more sawing capacity. Would love to have your old BS but it's a long drive to Sitka.

 

[hockenbery]

To me depth of cut is more important than the width of cut.

My 16” Hd has a 12” resaw can cut most bowl&HF blanks I want to turn but I have had to chainsaw a few blanks that were too tall for the saw.

18” resaw can cut bigger blanks and I would likely opt for that if I were getting younger.


. Nice think about that saw is you will have to buy a forklift to move it and the forklift will come in handy moving logs to the saw.

 

[John Torchick]

hockenbery, I recall seeing a video of a lady in western NC who is a woodturner and turns huge pieces of wood. Her shop has an overhead door. She has a small farm tractor and rear hoist to place the wood on the lathe. Anyone know this lady?

 

[hockenbery]

hockenbery, I recall seeing a video of a lady in western NC who is a woodturner and turns huge pieces of wood. Her shop has an overhead door. She has a small farm tractor and rear hoist to place the wood on the lathe. Anyone know this lady?

I’m sure you mean Lissi Oland. she passed away a few years ago.
They did most of their turning with little scrapers like I use for hollowing.
http://www.olandcraft.com/

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

Sad to hear that Lissi passed...I hadn't heard. Very cool people.

Al, I agree on depth of cut. It has to be about 24". There's something to be said for inertia too on a huge flywheel. It was always a great machine for resawing, but I don't do much of that anymore.

 

[hockenbery]

Sad to hear that Lissi passed...I hadn't heard. Very cool people.

Al, I agree on depth of cut. It has to be about 24". There's something to be said for inertia too on a huge flywheel. It was always a great machine for resawing, but I don't do much of that anymore.

Zach
24” depth would be great. Sounds like a saw worth knocking a hole in a wall to get it inside.
Or you plan to build a shop around it works too.
Of course you know bigger saws have longer more expensive blades. The blades do last longer so it is a wash except when nail or rock takes it out.

 

[John Torchick]

Lissi is the one. Amazing lady.

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

Zach
24” depth would be great. Sounds like a saw worth knocking a hole in a wall to get it inside.
Or you plan to build a shop around it works too.
Of course you know bigger saws have longer more expensive blades. The blades do last longer so it is a wash except when nail or rock takes it out.

Thanks Al. If I pull this off, I'll have to rent an extending boom forklift to get the saw on a landing craft, obviously rent the landing craft, and then winch the saw up the beach on its side into my shop. I don't live on the road system, so this is a major undertaking. Still weighing my options.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

I’m sure you mean Lissi Oland. she passed away a few years ago.
They did most of their turning with little scrapers like I use for hollowing.
http://www.olandcraft.com/

Last I heard she had moved to her native country, somewhere in Europe. I did not know she past away. She was a tough lady. Watched a movie about her somewhere...

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

I recently acquired my dad's old 36" Delta Rockwell Crescent bandsaw. Needless to say...it's gigantic. 1700 pounds. It's footprint is 3' X 5'.

I'm looking for advice on how many turners have big bandsaws and use them. I have to decide whether the 36" bandsaw goes into my rather small shop or into storage until I expand the shop.

For background...I already have a 14" cheapo Rikon. I used the 36" bandsaw a lot as a teen and young man for shipwright projects, but never for woodturning—which is my main focus these days.

Thanks for all ideas or advice!

And here I was all happy about my 18 in BS I got today, LOL. I would go to any amount of trouble if the saw was my Dad's. Do whatever you have to do to keep it, it's a family heirloom, you are a very lucky guy. Congratulations. Aloha

 

[hockenbery]

Thanks Al. If I pull this off, I'll have to rent an extending boom forklift to get the saw on a landing craft, obviously rent the landing craft, and then winch the saw up the beach on its side into my shop. I don't live on the road system, so this is a major undertaking. Still weighing my options.

Oh man, So much technology!
I thought you Alaskans would just strap it to a dog sled wait for snow and mush it in.
Maybe its time for the cog rail tram from the beach.

If it gets too daunting ship it to me. You can visit any time

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

Thanks Emiliano. I felt a bit awkward posting about my 36" saw when you were excited about an 18"! Honestly, I wish (at least for now) that the saw was smaller. But that huge table does look attractive.

I agree: the saw has to stay in the family. The trouble is that my dad offered to put the saw in his garage, and I don't want to take him up on the offer!

He and a shipwright friend saved the saw from the dump in the 1980s. The pulp mill (now defunct) in my hometown was throwing it out because the tires were bad. No wonder the pulp mill closed several years later with that kind of incompetence. I shipped the saw a few hundred miles north when another shipwright friend offered to keep it at his house—then he chickened out when he saw the look on his wife's face. Oh well!

Very funny Al!

 

[hockenbery]

@Zach LaPerriere what time is it at your house?
I’m impressed you are up early or really late

 

[john lucas]

What I like most about a big bandsaw is the horsepower. I have a 16" mini max but have used my friends 36" saw. He made a living making giant rocking horses and put many miles on that saw. I find the cutting much more enjoyable with the heavier duty saw and more horsepower. It cuts easily so you are never forcing the cut which of course makes it safer. Kind of like the old saying a sharp knife is safer than a dull one.

 

[olaf Vogel]

Hey Zach,

Congrats on the saw. With a tiny bit of TLC, it will outlast your kids!.
If you've not seen it before, there's a wealth of info here: http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=224&tab=3

Sounds like you have experience moving it. If not, I would suggest taking off the top wheel, to lower the centre of gravity and get it through your door. Then add a nice big motor.

If you have 24" of height, then is sounds like this version:
http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=17138

Very nice for the purpose

Those big saws are a pleasure to use. (I have an old 30" and love it)

Olaf

 

[robo hippy]

I consider resaw height to be important... Side note to the thread about bandsaw safety, all bandsaws should have brakes... I depend on the one on my Laguna 16HD. That and the bimetal blades with M42HSS teeth, which will cut through nails...

robo hippy

 

[Ronald Plumley]

I recently acquired my dad's old 36" Delta Rockwell Crescent bandsaw. Needless to say...it's gigantic. 1700 pounds. It's footprint is 3' X 5'.

I'm looking for advice on how many turners have big bandsaws and use them. I have to decide whether the 36" bandsaw goes into my rather small shop or into storage until I expand the shop.

For background...I already have a 14" cheapo Rikon. I used the 36" bandsaw a lot as a teen and young man for shipwright projects, but never for woodturning—which is my main focus these days.

Thanks for all ideas or advice!

Wouldn't it be easier to find a place for the bandsaw and then build a new shop around it?

 

[olaf Vogel]

Wouldn't it be easier to find a place for the bandsaw and then build a new shop around it?

You may laugh...but that’s what I did!
http://www.olafvogel.com/macgregor-gourlay-bandsaw.html

 

[Ronald Plumley]

That was, at the heart, sort of tongue-in-cheek, but at the core, it really wasn't.... I can fully appreciate doing something like that...
That's a very neat looking bandsaw, by the way.

 

[Mike Brazeau]

In my dreams I would like to have an 18" bandsaw. Just missed out on a Steel City for $675 that about 3 1/2 hours east. Dawdling while trying to figure out how to move it etc. and it was gone. Paying equipment movers etc. would have made it not worthwhile. Meanwhile I buy fresh blades and use my 14" import Delta knockoff with a riser and auxiliary table I fashioned years ago. Great for milling blanks from found wood if you baby it.

 

[Mike Johnson]

This is the bandsaw that is tempting my tool budget lately.

 

[olaf Vogel]

This is the bandsaw that is tempting my tool budget lately.
View attachment 25645

Very impressive
I want your tool budget!!!

 

[Dean Center]

Thanks Al. If I pull this off, I'll have to rent an extending boom forklift to get the saw on a landing craft, obviously rent the landing craft, and then winch the saw up the beach on its side into my shop. I don't live on the road system, so this is a major undertaking. Still weighing my options.

What you need to rent, is a bunch of Egyptians.

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

Thanks for the replies. In short: I asked a bunch of like-minded tool loving guys if I should take the plunge and of course you said go for it!

@hockenbery Yes, I was up early. First the moon woke me up then an owl hooting—I'm not making this up—so I figured might as well just get up.

@olaf Vogel You have an amazing saw, and well the effort. What a beauty! Looks like it makes sweeping that much easier... Thank you, you pretty much nailed the right model. I think it's a wee bit different, but that's pretty much it. Thanks for the links on the Vintage Machinery forum. I hadn't looked up that saw there. I'm guessing it can use a little love after sitting for the better part of 20 years.

I'm still on the fence and will have to sleep on this a little. I keep you all posted. Thanks again for all of the thoughts. Much appreciated.

 

[Gary Beasley]

Zach, I wonder what it would cost to have a cargo/construction helicopter airlift it over to your shop?

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

Zach, I wonder what it would cost to have a cargo/construction helicopter airlift it over to your shop?

In many areas, it would be reasonable. The nearest helicopter rental is 100 miles away at something like $1500/hour. For large jobs it can be efficient. Years ago I talked with a pilot about moving move little cabin. They were up for it, but it would have needed zero wind to lift through the trees and then back down a hundred yards away. In the end, we left our cabin right where it's been for a hundred years.

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

Just to give an update...I've decided to lend the saw long term to a retired contractor who wants to restore the saw to full glory and put it to use on his colossal timberframe home. So one way or the other, the saw will live happily ever after.

Not sure what the long term plan is. A shipwright friend suggested I get a mini shipsaw in the 30 inch range, which has a tilting head, rather than bed. I had a 36" shipsaw at my old shop, and it's dang spiffy to rip a bevel with the saw bed level.

Thank you everyone for the on-point advice. I greatly appreciate every one of you.